“The problem is never really the assaults from opponents. Certainly, it’s not a problem by comparison with sniping from behind. That’s a distraction.” He said the Blairites attacking Mr Miliband wanted to go back to the “day before yesterday”

Ignoring the 16 loony left MPs who wanted Labour to turn into Syriza on Monday, Prezza has intervened in the growing Labour row with his customary tact and delicate handling of internal party matters:

Mr Milburn criticised his party’s plans for the NHS and accused Ed Miliband of sticking to his “comfort zone”.

Mr Milburn also joined forces with another former Blairite minister, John Hutton, to attack Ed Miliband and Ed Balls for failing to defend New Labour’s economic policies.

Their comments sparked a furious backlash, with ex Deputy PM Lord Prescott accusing them of being “Tory collaborators.”

Consensus seems to be that Blairite former ministers are already preparing for a post-defeat civil war.

François Hollande, Ed Miliband and now Abu-Bakr al-Baghdadi. The FTreports that ISIS are implementing Red Ed’s policy of a 50p top rate of tax across the one holy caliphate:

“Sajad Jiyad, an independent researcher in Iraq, says that Isis struggles to balance its books, but services continue to function because of the money Baghdad still pays to former civil servants in Mosul. Isis taxes those employees at up to 50 per cent of their salaries.”

It’s a cost of jihad crisis! The caliphate can do better than this. One nation….

Labour hope that social media is going to win them the election, so you might have thought they would have a look at the online presence of those chosen to introduce Ed Miliband at his speech in Manchester this morning.

Amman Ahmed took to the stage talk about the economy and business.

And what is the secret to his profit making success?

Apparently “trafficking underage hookers” and “raping elderly women and stealing their handbags”. According to his Facebook…

“A choice of hope with us or falsehood with Conservatives” says Ed Miliband this morning. Labour are briefing their key election principles will be to fight for victory on streets and doorsteps – not speaking over heads with posters – and secondly offering people hope, not falsehood.

It’s the talk of Hognaston, Derbyshire. You’ll never guess who was in the Red Lion on Friday… Only that Ed Miliband!

Most of the regulars would have missed the Labour leader rehearsing how to eat a turkey lunch in the run up to Christmas, due to the fact that his party insisted on privacy. “It was only a couple of waitresses who knew he was here, which is what they wanted,”says Tony Waterall, the owner of the pub. “He didn’t want people looking at him or for there to be any confrontation.”

Given Ed’s previous well publicised masticatory gaffes, you can understand why he now insists on dining closed doors. But panic not, as ever, Guido provides an artistic recreation of the moment the turkey tucked into the turkey.